The invention described herein relates to the field of battery operated devices such as electronic controllers. More particularly, the invention relates to an apparatus and method for permitting unobstructed access to batteries in electronic devices to facilitate the quick replacement of a discharged battery.
Small, portable batteries provide electric power to portable electronic and electrical devices such as radios, lap top computers, car alarms, garage door openers, smoke alarms, telephones, pagers, television and video controllers, electronic game controllers, and other devices. Batteries are typically contained within a compartment or chamber covered by a moveable door or panel. Such doors prevent batteries from being displaced from electrical contacts and prevent dirt from entering the battery compartment.
Certain accessory uses such as game controllers, portable radios, music players, and other devices provide continuous play over long time periods. For electronic game controllers, players sometimes engage in games which extend beyond the useful life of a battery. To provide communication between a controller and receiver base unit, cumbersome power and control cables connect the game controller to the receiver base unit. Such cables limit player mobility and present hazards to children and other persons.
Portable controllers can be provided which communicate through infrared signals between the controller and the receiver base unit, however the utility of such controllers is limited by available battery power. An electronic game player may be engrossed in a personal record high scoring game at the moment that battery power is discharged, thereby disrupting the game at the crucial moment as the battery is replaced.
Conventional battery storage systems encumber a person's ability to exchange a discharged battery with a charged replacement battery. In most systems, a door or panel must be removed so that the batteries can be removed from the housing cavity. Representative examples of battery storage compartments and covers are found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,129,688 to Fisher (1978) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,166,359 to Domokos (1977) which disclosed watch housing covers for creating a waterproof compartment. U. S. Pat. No. 4,182,020 to Malloy (1980) also disclosed a waterproof cover for sealing a battery within a watch housing. U.S. Pat. No. 5,010,532 to Perrot (1991) disclosed a watch opening and cover for closing a battery housing, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,645,954 to Tamuru (1997) disclosed a moveable terminal connected to a battery compartment cover.
Although different techniques have been developed to remove discharged batteries from compartments, significant dexterity is often required to extricate such batteries. In one technique, flexible pull tabs or ribbons are positioned below the battery and one end of the ribbon is connected to the housing and the other ribbon end extends exterior of the battery. The free ribbon end is pulled to dislodge the battery, and insertion of the replacement battery pushes the ribbon back into the compartment. Flat bladed tools can be inserted between batteries and the case housing to pry the battery from the compartment. Another technique uses a special gripping tool to engage and to remove the battery. Representative examples are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,138,531 to Thompson (1979) which disclosed a technique for manually lifting a battery from a battery holder and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,617,079 to Harrison (1997) which disclosed an elongated rod and carriage for inserting and removing a battery from a device.
When compartments doors are used, various systems have been developed to latch the compartment door. U.S. Pat. No. 4,371,594 to Ohara et al. (1983) disclosed a lock for a battery compartment door, U. S. Pat. No. 5,337,215 to Sunderland et al. (1994) disclosed a pivoting battery compartment and door, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,722,705 to Deguchi (1998) disclosed a lock structure for a battery compartment cover. U.S. Pat. No. 4,904,549 to Goodwin et al. (1990) disclosed a latch for releasing a battery from a locked position relative to a battery housing.
An improved battery compartment door system for a battery operated pager was disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,369,802 to Murray (1994). The discharged battery was changed by pushing a replacement battery against an entrance door and into contact with the discharged battery. An exit battery door was opened for the discharged battery as the replacement battery opened the entrance door. Operation of the doors was automatic during battery insertion into the battery compartment.
In addition to battery compartments having moveable doors and covers, removable, rechargeable battery packs and latching systems have been developed to facilitate battery replacement. U.S. Pat. No. 4,191,917 to Brown et al. (1978) disclosed such a rechargeable battery pack. U. S. Pat. No. 4,191,917 to Brown et al. (1980) also disclosed a replaceable battery pack. U.S. Pat. No. 3,999,110 to Ramstrom et al. (1975), U.S. Pat. No. 4,146,682 to Nakao (1979), U.S. Pat. No. 5,213,913 to Anthony et al. (1993), U.S. Pat. No. 5,401,592 to Gilpin et al. (1993), and U.S. Pat. No, 4,871,629 to Bunyea (1989) disclosed latching systems for a battery pack. U.S. Pat. No. 5,573,870 to Andrews (1996) disclosed a quick change battery pack assembly. U.S. Pat. No. 5,637,417 to Engmark et al. (1997) disclosed a push button operated release for a spring loaded battery pack, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,786,106 to Armani (1998) disclosed a battery replacement cartridge.
When a replacement battery is exchanged for a discharged battery, different systems have been developed to prevent loss of power to the attached electronic components. U.S. Pat. No. 5,148,042 to Nakazoe (1992) disclosed an electronic device locking device for releasably locking batteries. U.S. Pat. No. 5,712,553 to Hallberg (1998) disclosed a battery power supply transposition circuit. U.S. Pat. No. 5,832,282 (1998) and 5,579,491 to Jeffries et al. (1994) disclosed systems for implementing battery hot swapping in portable computers, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,028,806 to Stewart et al. (1989) and to Stewart et al. (1991) disclosed circuitry for switching between batteries in a portable computer. U.S. Pat. No. 4,648,066 to Pitt (1987) disclosed a module and special battery connector permitting battery replacement without loss of stored data.
Although a significant amount of effort has been dedicated to improving techniques for storing and replacing batteries in portable electronic devices, such devices require manual door operation or cartridge latching systems which delay battery replacement operations and increase the expense of the electronic device. Complicated door mechanisms are subject to malfunction and breakage and are undesirable for continuous operation devices such as game controllers. Accordingly, a need exists for an improved battery replacement and storage device which permits rapid battery replacement with minimal disruption to operation.